3/16 - Zechariah 3:1-10 | How to Remove Stains and be Properly Dressed

This week we continued on in Zechariah 3 with his fourth vision. In this vision, the high priest, Joshua, stands before the Angel of the Lord and Satan in what is depicted as a heavenly courtroom. Joshua is standing before the Lord in filthy clothing as Satan stands ready to accuse him. We know that for a high priest at this point in history to stand before God and this holy counsel would have been embarrassing, to say the least. It would have been a disgrace to show up in a position of high leadership unclean. Joshua was guilty. He was dirty and unclean. But God, rich in mercy, doesn't condemn Joshua or send him away. He rebukes Satan. He gives Joshua clean clothing and a turban that declares the holiness of the Lord. We are encouraged that, like Joshua, we all have stains and sins we can't scrub away or clean up on our own. Only through the work of Jesus does he offer us brand new clothing—a new identity in Christ that we could never earn on our own.